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ndewilde
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Will an MBA help you get ahead in tech? 05 Jun 2018, 13:49
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For a while, I've wanted to write something for people who want to build careers in tech and are struggling with whether or not to get an MBA.

My own experience at GSB was fantastic. That said, I feel conflicted about whether an MBA (generally) is a good tool for people to get ahead in tech. I tried to write a post that was less one-size-fits-all advice and more focused on helping people walk through the decision based on where they're starting from and where they want to end up.

If you have thoughts on it, I'd love to hear them.
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swbluedevil
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Will an MBA help you get ahead in tech? 12 Jun 2018, 20:39
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I came across this on Medium about a week ago - so glad to see this post again!

Personally, I thought the MBA was super helpful for me to get into tech. I was in the military pre-MBA and used the GI Bill to pay for Haas. I worked at Google as my first gig out b-school and am now at Facebook.

I don't think I could have gotten into PM at Google without the MBA because I didn't have a business background to supplement my engineering degree / experience in the military. With that said, I don't think an MBA is required to break into tech, but may be in specific cases.
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ndewilde
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Will an MBA help you get ahead in tech? 14 Jun 2018, 14:23
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Thanks for your thoughts swbluedevil. Great to hear it was helpful for your goals. I'd be interested to know how much the location of Haas (being in the Bay Area) played into your ability to get a role at Google. By that I mean, did you end up building relationships with people at Google through the Haas network or did you cold apply to the job?
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swbluedevil
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Schools: Haas '15 (M) Kellogg '15 (A)
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Will an MBA help you get ahead in tech? 14 Jun 2018, 15:54
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I definitely think the Bay Area location helped. But it was location + MBA program that added a lot of value. Pretty much all of the Google connections I made were through Google's on-campus presentations at Haas. Being close to Mountain View made it easy to organize career treks (hosted by Haas alumni at Google) and for Haas alumni (including several Googlers) to participate in mock interview days in Berkeley.

So I think the fact that Haas is a top 10 program (and the fact that lots of Haasies go into tech) meant it was a priority for Google's MBA recruiters while its location in the Bay Area made it easy to network and interact with Google (both formally and informally).

Hope this helps!
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Saraluck9090
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Will an MBA help you get ahead in tech? 20 Jun 2018, 21:19
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Thank you so much for your valuable thought.